Fritz Künkel

Fritz Künkel (September 6, 1889 – April 1, 1956) was known both as a German psychiatrist and an American psychologist. He might best be understood as a social scientist who sought to integrate psychology (especially the work of Freud, Adler and Jung), sociology and religion into a unified theory of human being. He consolidated these insights into a theory of character development and finally into his "We-Psychology".

Biography The following material comes from the brief life written by John A. Sanford, with the assistance of Kunkel's two sons.

Kunkel was born the seventh of eight siblings, on a wealthy estate in Brandenburg (now Poland), on September 6, 1889. His early life was characterized as carefree, imaginative, active and social. While pursuing a variety of interests, he did manage to study medicine, receiving his medical degree “a few days after the beginning of the First World War”. Die Grundbegriffe der Individualpsychologie (The Fundamental Concepts of Individual Psychology), with Ruth Kunkel. Berlin, 1927. Die Arbeit am Character (Working on the Character). Schwerin, 1929. English translation, God Helps Those..., New York, 1931. Angewandte Charakterkunde (Applied Characterology). Leipzig, 1929-1935. Part 1: Einführung in die Characterkunde (Introduction to Characterology). 1929. English translation, Let's Be Normal!, New York, 1929. Part 2: Charakter, Wachstum und Erziehung (Character, Growth, and Education). 1931. English translation Philadelphia, 1938. Part 3: Charakter, Liebe und Ehe (Character, Love, and Marriage). 1932. Part 4: Charakter, Einzelmensch und Gruppe (Character, the Individual, and the Group). 1933. Part 5: Charakter, Leiden und Heilung (Character, Suffering, and Healing). 1935. Part 6: Charakter, Krisis und Weltanschauung (Character, Crisis, and Worldview). 1935. A revision of Vitale Dialektik. Der kritische Punkt in der Charakterkunde (The Critical Point in the Study of Character). In Arzt und Seelsorger volume 18. Schwerin, 1929. Vitale Dialektik (Vital Dialectics). Leipzig, 1929. Jugendcharakterkunde (The Study of Adolescent Character). Schwerin, 1930. English translation, What It Means To Grow Up, New York, 1936. Grundzüge der Politischen Charakterkunde (Fundamentals of Political Characterology). Berlin, 1931. Eine Angstneurose und Ihre Behandlung (An Anxiety Neurosis and Its Treatment). Leipzig, 1931. Krisenbriefe (Crisis Letters). Schwerin, 1932. De religieuze opvoeding in het gezin en het ongeloof (Religious Upbringing in the Family and Disbelief). Volume two of Psychologie van het ongeloof. Amsterdam, 1933. Grundzüge der praktischen Seelenheilkunde (Fundamentals of Practical Psychotherapy). Stuttgart and Leipzig, 1935. Conquer Yourself. New York, 1936. Die Erziehung Deiner Kinder (Raising Your Children), with Elizabeth Kunkel. Berlin, 1936. Das Wir (The "We"). Schwerin, 1939. How Character Develops, with Roy Dickerson. New York, 1940. In Search of Maturity. New York, 1943. German edition, Ringen um Reife (Striving for Maturity), Konstanz, 1955. What Do You Advise?, with Ruth Gardner. New York, 1946. Creation Continues. New York, 1947. German translation, Die Schöpfung geht weiter, Konstanz, 1957. My Dear Ego. Boston, 1947.